Here's the funny mistake that made Yahoo purple

Yahoo is celebrating its 22nd birthday this year. Over the past two decades, it has become one of the most recognizable brands on the web, much of that due to its distinct, purple color scheme.

But how did this unusual color find its way onto one of the most popular websites in the world? Did they meet with a brand consultant? Did they conduct studies to see which colors were most popular with visitors to the site?

As it turns out, it happened totally by accident. During a fireside chat event at Tech Pulse, Yahoo's annual conference for its tech community, CEO Marissa Mayer asked co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo to set the record straight.

Yang revealed that when the company was just getting started, he and members of the team had sent Filo out to buy grey paint for the walls of their office. Filo returned with what he thought was grey paint, but once on the walls it ended up drying lavender.

They ended up sticking with the mistake, and 22 years later Yahoo the color purple are inseparable.